Rockets Host Cavs, Seek a Win to Close Out Season’s First Half
An Easy Obstacle. 15 for 30? Halftime.
Throughout the first half of the season, the Rockets encountered many challenging obstacles. Tonight shouldn’t be one of them. Houston hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Toyota Center in what should be an easy victory as we reach the midway point in the season. Cleveland is one of the worst teams in the NBA. A young, rebuilding squad, with not much talent at all, the Cavs should pose no threat to the Rockets. Houston’s immensely improved since the Cavs won the first meeting between these two teams in Cleveland. A matchup some could argue was the Rockets worst loss of the season so far. Houston has no reason to lose this game, despite Chris Paul and Eric Gordon remaining out with injuries. The Rockets have Harden, Capela, and the best group of role players in the NBA who are really starting to mesh as a group and “Run As One.” Cleveland has some potential, with the upside of rookie point guard Colin Sexton, but that’s just about it. The Cavs are trying to deal Kevin Love as they try and navigate the rebuilding process successfully. No doubt they are praying every day in Cleveland to get that number one pick come draft time (again, which would be their 3rd in about a decade). Friday night’s game should be an easy victory for the Rockets, so long as they don’t overlook or play down to their competition.
James Harden’s playing at that superstar level mentally, where in his mindset, he should be seeking out revenge after losing his first battle against Sexton and the Cavs. The Beard goes for a mind-boggling 15th straight game with 30 or more points tonight in Houston, where the Rockets have gone 14-2, since starting the season 0-4. Harden should have no problem accomplishing this feat, the only way it might not happen is if the Rockets jump on the Cavs and blow them out of the building quickly. This would result in Harden getting lesser minutes and not playing the fourth quarter (potentially), all of which are good things for the team in the long run. I expect this to happen in a Houston victory, as the Rockets should have no problems with arguably the worst team in the entire league this season. If the Beard reaches 30 points or not again is hard to tell. Harden’s been playing at a historic level. It seems like if he really wanted to, the Beard could put up 30 points in the first half.
After this game, which is number 41 out of 82 games on the Rockets’ regular season slate, the finale will officially mark the halfway point of the season for Houston. The Rockets started off slow, but as we’ve all witnessed, closed strong, against even stronger competition, after a much easier start to the season schedule-wise. And integrated several key new pieces (House, Rivers) seamlessly. Houston’s chemistry should only get better as the season moves along and as they get healthier as a unit. Chris Paul and Eric Gordon’s respective returns (both coming in the near future, Gordon sooner than Paul) will make the Rockets a devastating out for any opponent. These are all positive things to look forward to, with the second half of the season on the horizon. A win tonight gives Houston 13 victories out of their last 16 games, mostly against playoff-caliber competition (excluding tonight’s matchup). The Rockets look to close out the first half of the season with a win over a bad Cavs team in front of the home crowd. It should be an easy obstacle for the Beard and company to overcome.
Toyota Center: Houston, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Cleveland Cavaliers (8-34) – White
Houston Rockets (23-17) – Black
TV: 7:00 PM CT – ATT Sportsnet SW